Another Slice of Cake
by fwingsnitch
Summary: Sequel to Cake. What do a pokeball, a bloody maze, and Ash's father all have in common? One word: Steve. He's not done yet. In fact, he is now more determined than ever to get rid of everybody who's ever upset him, which includes…Ash's dad? Read & Rev
1. Chapter 1

Sequel to Cake. What do a pokeball, a bloody maze, and Ash's father all have in common? One word: Steve. He's not done yet. In fact, he is now more determined than ever to get rid of everybody who's ever upset him, which includes…Ash's dad? Review!  
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Bet you guys weren't expecting this, huh? Well, neither was I! But the idea popped into my head, and I figured "Oh, what the heck!". So, I am now writing a sequel to Cake!

Now, as you may or may not have predicted me to say, you're gonna have to just forget that last part of Cake with Ash and Misty's kid and all. Then again, maybe not. I dunno. The point is, this takes place after the actually story of Cake, not that part. This has nothing to do with Ash and Misty's kids or anything like that. Okay? Okay.

P.S., this is only happening a couple months after the Cake incident.

Anyway, this is taking too long, so let's get going!  
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Chapter 1

"Agh!"

Ash let out a small yelp as he tripped and hit the hard, concrete ground. He groaned and started to push himself up. He was aching all over, and there was still blood dripping out of his nose and mouth. He spat some of it out and then realized that he had landed in a puddle of blood that didn't belong to him.

Ash slowly stood up and saw that the puddle of blood came from a flowing stream of the bright red liquid. He followed the stream around a corner of the huge maze he was still trapped in, and immediately gasped, backing a few steps away.

A 13-year-old kid was lying on the ground in front of him, pouring blood onto the floor. He looked as if he had been sliced open in pretty much every place possible. Ash immediately recognized the boy as Mark Cunningham, whom he had met while he was a captive of the psychopathic serial killer Steve. Despite the fact that he looked as if he should be dead, Mark moaned and hoisted himself up on his elbow, looking right at Ash.

"Loo-k-kay-bee…" He said slowly, and then fell to the ground, now completely dead. Ash continued staring for a few seconds, and then noticed that Mark was lying right in front of a metal door. Slowly, Ash nudged Mark's body out of the way of the door with his foot, and opened the door.

Ash stepped through the doorway right into a living room, which looked almost identical to the one which Steve had kept him in before beginning his twisted games. He looked around the room and gasped again.

His father was there. He looked exactly how Ash would look if he were in his early thirties. Like Ash, he was wearing only an undershirt and pair of boxers, and was hanging by his wrists from chains on the ceiling.

"Hi, Ash." He said. Ash just stood there, staring speechlessly in shock.

"Well, well! Lookie here!" A familiar orange-haired man had just appeared out of nowhere, and was wielding a flamethrower. "It's a family reunion!" Steve said, smiling. "You're in luck, Ash! You got here just in time for the big show!" Steve aimed the flamethrower at Ash's dad.

"No!" Ash yelled. "Please, no! Don't kill him!"

"Ash!"

"Don't kill him! No!"

Steve pulled the trigger on the flamethrower, causing flames to spray out, burning up Ash's father, who screamed in pain.

"_Ash_!"

"No! Stop it! Don't kill him!"

"_**ASH!!!**_"

"Aah!" Ash quickly tried to sit up, slamming his head into something hard.

"Ow!" He heard a familiar, feminine voice exclaim.

"Wha-Misty?" Ash opened his eyes, rubbing his forehead. He was in his bed in his hotel room again, sweating so hard it had created a small puddle the bed-the covers had fallen off the bed completely.

"Yeah, Ash, it's me!" Misty said, rubbing her forehead also. "What happened?"

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"Well, it seemed like you were having a nightmare," Misty said. "A pretty bad one, too, by the sound of it. Don't kill who?"

"Huh?"

"Well, while you were asleep…you kept yelling, 'Don't kill him'. Who were you talking about?"

Ash sighed and hopped out of the bed. "I need to get some air," he said, walking out onto the balcony, still wearing nothing but his PJ pants. He looked out over the city beneath him, most of the lights turned off because it was the middle of the night. He then looked up at the sky, which was completely cloudless, millions of stars filling up the dark expanse of space which was completely visible through the night.

"Ash, are you okay?"

Ash turned his head to see Misty standing next to him, also still in her sleepwear (a bright purple nightgown).

"I don't know," he said, thinking back on the horrible dream. He couldn't get it out of his head: Mark's bleeding body, his father being scorched to death by the serial killer whom Ash thought had been locked away in his own psychotic funhouse forever.

"Ash…tell me about your dream."

Ash sighed again. "Well, I dunno if you want me to, Misty," he said. "It's pretty gruesome."

"Ash, I'm Misty Waterflower," she retorted. "I think I can handle whatever crazy nightmare a mind as dimwitted as yours could make up."

Ash chuckled. "Okay, then…" And so he told Misty everything about his dream. She had been telling the truth. She didn't seem to be affected at all by his descriptions, no matter how detailed.

"You know what I think?" She said when he was finished.

"What?"

"I think you had too much pizza last night."

"I only had two slices!" Ash exclaimed defensively. Misty raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe three…" Misty's eyebrow remained raised.

"…or four…" Still raised.

Ash sighed. "…or twelve."

"There we go," Misty said, smiling. "Now, don't worry." She kissing him lightly on the lips. "I'm sure that this is the first and last time you'll ever have a dream like that."

Ash grinned. "Alright," he said, and gave Misty a kiss back. "Let's just go back to sleep, then, huh?"

"Yes," Misty said, "Let's."

The rest of the night Ash didn't have any more nightmares. But he still couldn't get that first dream out of his mind. Ash usually didn't even have any dreams at all. Why would he suddenly have a weird dream like this? He had an uneasy feeling that the dream meant something…and he didn't like it.  
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And there we go! Kinda short, I know, but I thought that would be a good place to end the chapter. Be sure to review and tell me what you think! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry again for taking so long to update guys! I've just been kinda busy. But, whatever. On to the next chapter!  
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Chapter 2

Ash tried to keep that dream out of his mind, but it just kept coming back to him. It didn't make any sense-why would he have a dream like that? He still felt that it meant something. When he told Misty of his suspicions, she just said that he was thinking too much about it, and it was just a dream, nothing more. Ash tried to listen to her, but he still couldn't get the thought out of his mind that the dream was trying to warn him of something.

Then, that afternoon, while he and Misty were watching TV, someone knocked on the door of their hotel room. Ash got up and answered it. It was a delivery man.

"Are you Ash Ketchum?"

"Yes," Ash answered.

"Is Misty Waterflower also here?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I have two packages here, one for each of you."

"Oh. Alright, then." The man handed Ash the packages, which he set on the table, and Ash signed for them.

"Have a good day, sir," The man said.

"You two," Ash replied, shutting the door.

"What was that?" Misty asked.

"We each got a package."

"From whom?"

"I don't know," Ash said, looking at the return address on the packages, which sort of freaked him out-there wasn't one. Instead, on both packages, there was a picture of a pikachu with a wide smile on its face-except its teeth were large and sharp, like some sort of monster. "It looks like they're both from the same person, though."

"Hmm." Misty got up and walked over to look at her package. "Well, let's see what they are."

Both of them opened their package at the same time. Misty screamed when she saw hers, and Ash just gasped and stared in shock.

"Oh my God!" Misty yelled.

"Oh my God..." Ash said also, but more in shock than fear.

They both stare at each other.

"Did you get…?" Misty said, wide-eyed.

"A brain," Ash said.

"Heart," Misty said.

"Picture of a pokeball taped to it?"

"Uh-huh."

Both of them just continued staring at each other.

"I'm calling 911," Ash said after a few minutes. Misty simply nodded.  
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"Excuse me?"

A detective approached Ash and Misty. He was tall, with not much muscle, and had long, blonde hair, grey eyes, and thin, tilted eyebrows that seemed to make him look worried.

"Yes?" Ash said.

"Are you Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower?"

"Yeah, that's us," Misty said, still looking a little shocked from the packages. It was now 5-o-clock PM, and there were policemen and detectives all around the hotel room.

"I'm detective David Green."

"Is there anything you have to tell us?" Ash asked.

"Well," Detective Green said, "from looking at both the organs, we can tell two things: they're human, and they were alive no more than a week ago, which means that they weren't taken from any sort of lab."

"So, we're talking murder," Misty said.

"Most likely," Green said. "There's a small chance that the person the organs were taken from was already dead, but I doubt it. Something like this suggests a serial killer.

"Another thing you should know: two other people also got organs sent to them that had recently been alive, both with the same return address and pokeball drawing."

"Who?" Ash asked.

"Dawn Hikari and Paul Vandal. Hikari was received intestines, Vandal got a stomach."

"Oh my God," Ash said, "we know those people."

"You do?" Green asked.

"Yeah. Is there anything else?"

"Well, those pokeball drawings that were taped to the organs both had the same message on the back."

"Which was…?" Misty said. Detective Green handed Ash one of the drawings, allowing him to read the message.

"How about a rematch?" He read aloud. Ash and Misty both stared at each other, with the exact same thing on their mind. They then both said what they were thinking aloud at the same time.

"Steve."

"Sorry?" Green said.

"Steve…" Ash said. "but, no…that's impossible…I mean, he-he's dead!"

"He could have escaped," Misty said.

"Hold on a minute," Detective Green cut in. "Is this the same Steve that kidnapped those kids and stuck them into some psycho game?"

"Yeah," Ash said.

"We were two of the kids," said Misty. "Dawn and Paul were, too."

"And so was Mark…" Ash said.

"Ash, you don't think…" Misty said, her eyes clearly showing that she was hoping for anything other than what she was thinking of.

"Hey, Green!" A woman with a blonde pony-tail and rectangular glasses walked up to Detective Green. "I just got a call. A body turned up in a local park, missing a brain, heart, stomach and intestines."

"Did we get an ID?" Green asked.

"Yeah, it was a 14-year-old kid named Mark Griffith."

Ash and Misty stared at each other. Neither one had the will do say anything.

"Do you know the cause of death?" Green asked.

"It would seem that the he died because of the killer removing the organs."

"So he was alive when they were taken."

"Exactly. It looks like the intestines were removed first, followed by the stomach."

"Why is that important?"

"Well, it shows that our killer wanted to cause pain. When someone's intestines are removed, they're still alive for a couple hours afterward."

"That's horrible," Misty managed to croak out.

Green nodded.

"I'm Detective Tony Marian," the other detective said, shaking Misty and Ash's hands.

"So, wait, didn't you guys lock Steve inside his own sick funhouse?" Green asked.

"Yeah, that's what we were just saying," Ash said.

"Well, Misty's right, he probably escaped. Did you ever see what Steve looked like."

"Yeah," Misty said, "I still remember it. He was white, sort of short, with balding orange hair and little rectangle glasses."

Green wrote this down on a little notepad he had with him. "Well, there's one thing I can say that you shouldn't do because of this?"

"Go looking for Steve?" Ash said.

"No, but you shouldn't do that, because that's just suicide for kids like you."

"We beat him once!" Misty retorted.

"Yeah, but you were lucky enough to have some freaky super-psyduck with you that time. Plus, this time, you don't even know where the hell Steve is nobody does. But, no, the thing that I was going to say you shouldn't do is, you shouldn't be afraid."

"What?" Ash exclaimed. "We just got a brain and a heart in the mail that were taken from our friend Mark _while he was still alive_! Why the _hell _should we not be afraid!?! Give me _one _good reason! Just one!"

"Because that's exactly what he wants!" Green said sternly. For a minute, Ash thought he sounded like a father talking to his children. "Look, he said in a calmer voice, "I've seen cases like this before. The killer sends family and/or friends one of the victim's body parts because he was them to be afraid. That's what he loves. The fear. He _wants _to scare people."

"So is that why he's doing this?" Misty asked. "Just to scare people?"

"Well, not necessarily _just _to scare people," Detective Marian said. "There could be other reasons. Scaring people might just be for fun."

"_Fun_!?!" Misty exclaimed.

"Yes, fun. From what I've heard about this Steve guy, he seems like what is probably the most disgusting type of serial killer there is: he just kills for the heck of it. To him it's entertainment. He has absolutely no morals whatsoever, and to him, killing people is just like what playing video games is to a normal person. It's a hobby. Of course, now he's targeting certain people, and revenge might be a factor. But still, the main reason is that this is fun for him. He enjoys it. Probably the thing he enjoys most is the reaction. And-"

Marian paused. She looked at Green.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Green said.

"The funeral." She said.

"Funeral?" Ash and Misty both asked at the same time.

"This guy is the type who loves the reaction he gets from the murder," Marian said. "I told you that. This means that if we hold a funeral for Mark, he'll definitely want to be there to see everyone cry over his coffin."

"We should probably hold it in a park somewhere," Green said. "He won't come if we hold it in a church. It'll be too easy to notice him there."

"Alright," Ash said. "If it'll help us catch him, we'll do it."

"But we want to be there to see him get caught," Misty said.

Green nodded. "I understand," he said.

"But, you must know, there's not a 100% chance we'll catch him on the first try," Detective Marian said. "We've used this technique before and it has failed before."

"Well, we'll still have a chance," Ash said.

"Alright," said Green, "but there's something else you must know."

"Which is…?" Misty asked.

"We may just be giving him another opportunity to kill someone."  
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Done and done with the second chapter! Hope you guys like it! And, by the way, be sure to REVIEW!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Alright, time for another update! Woo!  
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Chapter 3

Mark's funeral was going to be held the next day. The body had been damaged too much to be put in a coffin, so instead it was to be burned. That morning, however, somebody stopped by there house. He looked around 15 years old, with short black hair and a strange gray hat that looked like a cross between a snow hat and a baseball cap.

"Hey," he said, "I'm Kendal. I'm staying next door. I heard about what happened."

"Of course you did," Misty said in a slightly irritated voice.

"I think I might be able to help you."

"What do you mean?" Misty said. "You're barely any older than us."

"Maybe," Kendal said, "but I can still help. May I come in?"

Misty thought about it for a second. "Alright," she said, and let Kendal come in. Ash was sitting at the table eating leftover pizza.

"How do you think you can help us?" He asked.

"Well, I've got some info. Not quite sure if it will actually help you, but I figured I might as well say."

"What is it?"

"Okay, well, you guys got a brain and a heart, right?"

"Yeah," Misty said, "and Paul and Dawn got a stomach and intestines."

"Well, from that I can say this much: Ash, Steve sees you as the leader of the pack. He sees you, Misty, as basically what you are-something that Ash couldn't go on without. He sees Paul as someone who could cause serious problems if Ash isn't careful, and Dawn as someone who would end up harming the group after a while if she were gone, but wouldn't cause much damage at first."

Ash and Misty both just gaped at the kid. "I always thought Sherlock Holmes was fictional," Ash said in astonishment.

"He is," Kendal said. "I just watch too much Criminal Minds on TV."

"But, how did you know all that?" Misty said.

"Well," Kendal explained, "Ash got the brain. That is, at least in my opinion-and I'm pretty sure Steve's-the most important part of the body. The brain calls the shots; it tells the rest of the body what to do and makes sure it nothing goes bezerk.

"Misty, you got the heart. The heart is something that the brain needs to be able to do what it does. Without the heart, the brain doesn't have anything to keep it running. It'll just shut down, and the rest of the body will go with it.

"Paul got the stomach. To put it bluntly, I think the stomach is the most annoying body part. Yet, at the same time, it's one of the most important. The body would be much worse off without a stomach, but the stomach can also cause all sorts of problems, and if it bursts, the rest of the body will die off in a matter of minutes.

"Dawn got the intestines. Although they're also important to the body, if they're taken out, the rest of the body can still survive without them for a couple hours afterward. Also, something that Steve may or may not have meant to put into his little metaphor is that the intestines are directly connected to the stomach."

Ash and Misty just stared in shock. "…And you figured all that out how quickly?" Ash said.

"Maybe ten minutes," Kendal said. "I have a natural talent for that sort of stuff."

"Yeah, no shit," Ash said, still looking absolutely astounded.

"How would this help, though?" Misty asked.

"Well, it tells us something about Steve: he likes using metaphors-particularly ones that most people wouldn't even notice."

"Anything else you could tell us?" Ash said.

"I don't have much other information other than what brought me to what I just told you."

"We're holding a funeral for Mark tomorrow," Misty said. "Do you think he'll be there?"

"Definitely," Mark said. "He wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Do you think he'll kill someone else?" Ash asked.

"I wouldn't guarantee it," Kendal replied, "but I also wouldn't hesitate to say yes. He may want to-it would definitely add to the attention, which is what he loves-or he may think it's too risky. He seems like a pretty smart guy, after all."

"Yeah…" Ash said, "smart…"  
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The weather was obviously not in the mood for a funeral that day. The sky was clear and bright blue, with no clouds blocking the sun from causing the first flowers of spring to grow.

But, somehow, this weather made Ash feel good. It reminded him that no matter how many people suffered and died, life would still go on. It reminded him that while thousands of lives are taken away from the world every day, thousands of lives are also brought into existence.

There actually more people there than Ash would have expected-Mark turned out to have a lot of relatives. Detective Green was there too, along with a couple officer Jennies. Detective Marian had been unable to come because of family matters.

Ash wasn't actually paying much attention to what the priest said as he stood there, along with the other people, all gathered around a vase holding Mark's ashes. His mind was somewhere else. Ash hadn't known Mark at all when he first met him in Steve's games, but since then the two had become very close friends. In fact, in just two months, Mark had become one of the best friends that Ash had ever had.

And now he was gone.

Ash's thoughts, however, were interrupted by a small, green object just barely missing his face and a sudden yell of "DUCK!!!"

Ash turned and ducked, and then heard a loud scream, and the sound of a grenade exploding. He stood up, and gasped as he saw that the grenade had blown up most of the priest's head. The priest fell forward, right on top of Mark's ashes.

Ash heard the screech of tires on asphalt and turned around just in time to see a large, black van drive off.

"I'm heading after him!" Detective Green said, running towards his motorcycle.

"Wait!" Kendal stopped him.

"What?" Green said.

"Steve isn't stupid," said Kendal. "He'd be ready for that. If you head after him, you'll probably get yourself killed."

Green wanted to disagree, but he saw the sense in Kendal's words.

"Fine," he said. "That van didn't have a plate, so I guess all we can do for now is get a sketch of what Steve looks like and put that out on the news."

"Yeah…" Ash said. That night he had the same nightmare he had the day before he got the package that had started this all, the same nightmare he had been having every night since then, except this time there was a small difference.

Now, there was a grenade right under Mark and instead of saying "loo-k-kay-bee", he slowly breathed out, "step…hen…"  
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And that is the third chapter! Now, I don't want to sound demanding-oh, to hell with it!

REVIEW DAMMIT!!!!!! JESUS [bleep]-ING CHRIST WHAT THE [bleep]-ING [bleep] IS SO [bleep]-ING HARD ABOUT WRITING A [bleep]-ING [bleep] REVIEW??????? NOT A [bleep]-ING THING, THAT'S WHAT!!!! SO DO IT!!!!!! [bleep]-ING REVIEW OR I'LL [bleep]-ING KILL YOU, AND ALL YOUR [bleep]-ING DOGS TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

…please? =)


	4. Chapter 4

Alright! Sorry if there was a bit of a wait, you guys-my internet was out for a while. Anyhoo, let's get this show on the road!  
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Chapter 4

Ash and Misty were standing in a police station the morning after Mark's funeral, having been called over there by Detective Green. After a few minutes of waiting in the lobby, Detective Green walked in, along with an officer Jenny.

"Did you find something new?" Ash asked him.

"Not exactly," Green said.

"Where's Detective Marian?" Misty asked.

She was here just a few minutes ago," Green replied. "She had to go see her mom. Apparently her mother has been having some mental health issues lately. Literally."

"Man…" Ash said. "Well, tell her we said hi."

"I will," Green said.

"So, what was it that you wanted to tell us?" Misty asked.

"Ash," Green said, "that grenade wasn't meant for the priest."

"Yeah, I know," Ash said. "It was meant for me."

"No, it wasn't." Green said. He looked at Misty. "It was meant for _you_."

"Me!?!" Misty said, while simultaneously Ash exclaimed, "Her!?!"

"Yes," Green said. "Steve doesn't want to kill you right away, Ash. He wants to torment you. He wants you to put you through so much emotional pain that you wish you were dead, and then he wants to grant your wish."

"But why Ash!?!" Misty said. "The rest of us had just as much of a part in stopping Steve's games as Ash!"

"It's like Kendal said," Ash said. "Steve sees me as the leader. In the long run, that makes me the one responsible for stopping him."

"Kendal?" Green said.

"He's some kid next door to us in the hotel we're staying at," Misty said. "The way he thinks, you wouldn't believe he's only 15."

"Huh," said Green. "I'd like to meet this kid. Oh yeah, we got that sketch out on the news. I doubt anyone else would know him, though."

Just at that moment, a man burst into the lobby of the police station, a newspaper in his hand. He had long, messy black hair, dark brown eyes, and stubble. He was wearing only pajama pants and undershirt, and looked as if he had just gotten out of bed.

"Andrew?" Green said.

"Don't tell me you didn't recognize him!" The man, apparently named Andrew, said, holding up the sketch of Steve that was in the newspaper.

"Recognize him? What the-" Green paused, and his eyes widened. "Oh my God!" He exclaimed, and grabbed a sketch of Steve off of the counter in the lobby. He took out a pencil and erased parts of the drawing, then drew in something else. "No…" he said, staring at the new drawing.

"What?" Ash said, grabbing the drawing from Green's hands. It was still Steve, but now he had a full head of hair and no glasses. "I don't get it," he said, "who is this?"

"I don't believe I didn't see it before!" Green said. "How the hell could I have been so stupid!?!"

"Detective, who is this!?!" Misty said, snatching the sketch out of Ash's hands and looking at it.

"Stephen Luckabee," Andrew said.

Suddenly, Ash saw something. It was a newspaper article, and he could hear a four-year-old reading it aloud to himself. "Step…hen…Loo-k-kay-bee…"

Ash snapped back into reality. "It was a newspaper article!"

"Huh?" Misty said.

"That's where the dream came from! I remember it now! I was reading a newspaper article about it when I was four years old! That's why I kept remembering 'Step-hen Loo-k-kay-bee'! I was only four, so I was that good at reading yet, and to me that's what his name looked like!"

"Ash, what are you talking about?" Misty said. Then she let out a scream of pain. A crossbow bolt had just hit her foot. Andrew quickly yanked it out. Misty's foot was now bleeding all over the floor.

"Flint!" Detective Green yelled at a young man walking into the lobby. "Do your bandages with you?"

"Yeah!" Flint said, taking out a roll of bandage.

"Her foot! Now!" Flint knelt down and wrapped the bandage around Misty's foot. "I'll get her to a doctor," he said, leading Misty away.

"Why the hell does he have bandage with him?" Ash said.

"Flint always carries around some of it with him, just in case. Now that I think of it, I probably should start doing the same thing."

"Where did that come from, though?" Ash said.

"I don't know," Green replied, looking at a hole in the window, obviously from the bolt. "But whoever it is will be gone by now."

"It was Steve," Ash said. "He was trying to kill Misty!"

"Probably," said Green. "Or he may have been trying to kill Andrew-"

"Don't call me that," Andrew interrupted. "That's not my real name."

"What do you mean it's not-"

"My name," the man said, "is Lance. Lance Ketchum."

Ash's eyes widened in shock. No way. This was impossible. Lance Ketchum was dead. Ash knew this.

Lance continued. "I live in the town of Pallet in the Kanto region. I have a wife, Diana, and a son-" Lance turned to face Ash. He smiled. "…named Ash Ketchum."

"Dad…"  
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Cliffhanger! DUHN DUHN DUUUUUHN!!!! Now, I know you have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on! Well, good! You're supposed to be clueless! It adds to the suspense.

Sorry if the chapter was sort of short, but I wanted to end on a good cliffhanger. You'll get the whole story in the next chapter! Don't worry.

P.S. If you have any sort of theory about what _is _going on and how the story is going to end, tell me about it in your review! I'd love to hear it! In fact, if your idea is good enough, I might even use that instead of my original plan! Who knows?

P.P.S. REVIEW!!!!!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, you guys! Now you'll get an idea of what's going on! Here we go!

By the way, thanks for correcting me on Ash's mother's name. I knew it was something with a D.  
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Chapter 5

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I just saw Flint taking Misty out of here. What the hell is going on?" Detective Marian had just arrived at the station.

"Steve just tried to kill Misty. Luckily, he's a pretty bad shot. He only got her foot. There's something else you should know, too, though-turns out Andrew, the guy we saved from the maze, is actually Ash's dad. His real name is Lance Ketchum."

"What? But, I don't understand, how-"

"This Steve guy is actually Stephen Luckabee."

"Oh my god…"

Ash was silent throughout this whole conversation. A whole bunch of memories were all coming back to him at the same time. He was remembering more and more the more he thought about it.

"It was a maze…" he said aloud. "A maze…no exits…"

"You read about it, huh?" Detective Green said.

"Yeah…" Ash said. "I'm remembering now…I was only four…"

"Yup…" Green said. "That was the first case I ever worked. I remember it like it was yesterday.

"We didn't even know who was doing it all until we got some strange anonymous tip…we never did figure out who it was from."

"He kidnapped people, didn't he?" Ash said. Green and Marian nodded. Ash continued, "He trapped them in an inescapable maze and made them wander around, looking for an exit that wasn't there."

"He would keep supplying us with food and water," said Ash's dad. "He kept _me _alive for over a year. He didn't want us to die of starvation. No, he had different plans."

"There was a door," Ash said, speaking more to himself than anyone else. "He would keep it locked until after a while. Then he would unlock it and wait for somebody to go inside…then he would close it and lock it up again."

This whole time Detective Green kept on nodding. Ash kept on talking.

"There was room. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all copper…copper is a heat conductor. He trapped people in there. There were heating vents…he would turn on the vents and burn them alive."

"Exactly," Green said. "It took is a while, but we finally found the maze. Steve had paid for the whole thing himself-he had inherited billions of dollars from his father. Lance and a woman named Kelly were the only people still there. We never found Luckabee-he probably knew we were coming."

"He gave us fake names," Ash's father said. "He probably knew that he'd get caught someday. He kept us there for so long that most of us actually forgot our own names. But I knew that I wasn't really Andrew Reid. I knew that I was somebody else." He turned to Ash.

"That's what I've been doing since I got out of that maze. I've been looking for my real identity. Then I read an article about you in the newspaper, Ash. I read about Steve and how you got out of his sick games. It was then that I remembered. I remembered who I was. I remembered everything. That's what I was doing: going to Pallet Town. But this morning, I saw the sketch in the newspaper. I couldn't forget that face…Steve would always visit us in the maze. He loved to torment us.

"And now I'm here." He looked at Ash with a fatherly love that Ash had only dreamed of seeing before now. "I am _so _proud of you, Ash."

Ash had never cried since he was seven. He had come pretty close, but he had never actually cried. This was the first time in seven years that Ash cried. He just couldn't help it. He had never thought he would see his father again. And now he was right here, and he had never been so happy in his life.

Ash and his father pulled each other into a deep embrace, both with tears flowing steadily down their cheeks.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Ash managed to croak out.

"But I'm here," his father said. "And that's all that matters right now."

Green awkwardly cleared his throat. "Uh…I hate to ruin the moment, you guys," he said, "but unfortunately Lance being here right now is _not _the only thing that matters. Far from it, actually."

Ash and his father pulled out of the embrace. Ash's father put his hands on Ash's shoulders, smiling proudly at his son.

"First thing after this is all over," he said in a voice quiet enough so that only Ash could hear, "I'm taking you to a pokemon tournament."

Ash wiped on last small tear off his cheek. "I've been waiting my whole life to do that."

The two turned to face Green and Marian, who seemed to regret having to ruin the heartwarming moment that Ash and his father had created.

"So, the nut's back," Ash's father said.

"I'm afraid so," said Green. He's already killed two people and just tried to kill a third."

"Yeah, I know," Lance said. "Read it all in the paper. I-"

"This doesn't make sense." At that moment, Kendal walked through the door, looking as though he was thinking very hard about something he didn't understand.

"Excuse me?" Detective Green said.

"Oh, um," Ash said, "Detectives, Dad, this is Kendal."

"Hi," Kendal said quickly, and then immediately went back to thinking.

"What doesn't make sense?" said Ash's dad.

"I just saw Misty at the hospital, she told me what happened."

"What were you doing at the hospital?" Ash said.

"Getting a refill of for my drugs."

"Drugs?" said Detective Green.

"Schizophrenia," Kendal said. "It's not that bad, so I don't have to be in some nut house or anything, but I do need medication."

"But, what were you saying doesn't make sense?" Detective Marian said.

"Okay, I can understand the first murder with Mark, and _maybe _the second one at the funeral. But what happened to Misty isn't like Steve."

"What do you mean?" Ash said.

"Steve seems like the person who loves the attention he gets from his killings. At the funeral, I would have thought he'd at least show his face, but he didn't. Then with Misty, he seemed to be making sure he didn't get caught. He used a long-range weapon from far away, like a sniper. He didn't _want _to be seen, which just isn't right for him."

"So, what are you saying?" Ash's dad said.

"That this may not be Steve that we're looking for…" Detective Green said, looking at the sketch of Steve in deep thought.  
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Okay, hopefully that got some of your questions answered! However, I obviously just raised a new one: Is it really Steve? Well, I who knows? I do! But you'll just have to wait to find out!

BE SURE TO REVIEW!!!! And, like before, if you've got any ideas as to what's going on, tell me!


	6. Chapter 6

Man, this keeps getting better and better! What's up next? Well, let's find out, shall we?  
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Chapter 6

"Find anything, Flint?" Detective Green asked when Flint walked into the lobby, which they were still in. There was nowhere else large enough to hold all of them comfortably.

"Nothing," Flint answered. He was average-looking, with short, black hair and stubble, as if he hadn't shaved in a couple days. "There're plenty of people who want to kill this guy, but nobody who'd want to be him. His whole family is dead. Mom and Dad were murdered, sister committed suicide a few months later. It's probably a killer who read about him and decided to get some fame and attention by pretending to be him."

Green, Flint, and Marian continued speaking with each other, and Ash spoke to Kendal loud enough that only the two of them could hear.

"How's Misty doing?"

"Great," Kendal replied. "The doctors said she should be ready to go by tomorrow. She'll have to use crutches for two or three weeks, but nothing too bad."

"Okay," Detective Green said, "hold up here. We don't even know that this isn't Steve doing this. For all we know, it may still be Steve. He might just be trying to confuse us and make us suspect someone else."

"I don't think Steve would go through the trouble of doing that," Ash's father said.

"Well, maybe we'll be able to figure it out after we all get some rest," Detective Marian said. "Let's all go home and do just that."

"Good idea," Ash said. All six of them left the police station. Just before they all walked away in their different directions, however, Detective Green suddenly turned, pulled out his gun, and shot it dangerously close to Flint. It hit a man in the knee, who dropped to the ground beside Flint. The man had a rugged look to him, and was holding a knife in his hand.

"What the hell, Dave!?!" Flint yelled as Green ran over and pinned the man to the ground.

"This guy just tried to kill you, Flint!" Green yelled. He turned the man over and looked him straight in the eyes. "Who the hell are you!?!"

"Tracy Velman!" The man said fearfully. "Look, it's not me, man, someone else sent me!"

"Who!?!" Green yelled.

"I dunno!" The man said. "They didn't give me a name, and they were wearing a mask! I mean, I could tell it was a chick, but other than that-"

"Wait," Flint said, "did you say a woman sent you to do this?"

"Unless it was Justin Bieber with a couple softballs stuffed in his chest, yeah!"

Green looked up and everyone else. "We're looking for a woman."  
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The next afternoon, nobody had figured out anything new except that somebody had offered the man from the previous day ten thousand dollars to kill Flint.

"There's one question that I keep asking myself," Green said. "Why Flint? Me and Marian are the ones heading this investigation, Misty was the target before, and as much as I hate to admit it, Kendal seems to be the smartest of us all. I mean, seriously, what's your IQ, kid?" He asked Kendal, who was leaning against the wall of the station, looking at his feet and repeatedly mumbling to himself and shaking his head, as he always did when he was thinking hard.

"Huh?" Kendal looked up, for a moment exiting his world of thought.

"What's your IQ?" Green repeated.

"I've taken a bunch of different IQ tests," Kendal said, "and my results ranged from 153 to 189."

"Okay, no offense dude, but that's messed up," Ash said. Kendal simply shrugged and returned to his world of extremely thoughtful thought.

"Hey, guys." Ash turned to see Misty walking over with crutches, her foot covered by a cast. She didn't seem to be having much trouble with the crutches and overall seemed pretty normal, as if her foot weren't injured at all.

"Hey Misty," Ash said. The couple shared a short kiss. "How are you?"

"It really only hurts when I think about it, and even then it's not that bad at all. What did I miss?"

"Someone tried to kill Flint," Ash said. "Turns out this isn't Steve we're after-it's a woman."

"Well, looks like there're more than a few things you haven't told me," Ash's father said, walking over to the two of them, a smile much similar to Ash's boyish grin on his face.

"Oh yeah, sorry," Ash said. "Misty, this is my dad, Lance Ketchum. Dad, this is Misty, my girlfriend."

"Ah, yes," Ash's father said, nodding. "I read about you in the paper."

"Your dad?" Misty said, looking a bit confused. "Ash, I thought your dad was dead."

"So did I," Ash said. "It's a long story. I'll explain later."

"So, how long have you two been together?" Ash's father asked.

"We've known each other since I was ten," Ash said, "but we've only been a couple for two months. Ever since Steve's games."

"Well, love tends to shine truest in the darkest of times," said Ash's dad. "…Or something like that."

After a few minutes of conversation, Misty's cell phone rang. She answered it.

"Hello? Lilly? Lilly, what is it? Daisy? What happened? Oh my God! Who!?! Well, have you called the hospital? Okay, I'm coming there right now!" Misty hung up, looking incredibly scared.

"What is it?" Ash and his father said simultaneously.

"My sister," Misty said, wide-eyed. "Daisy…someone stabbed her."  
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"We're running out of time," Green said, standing at the crime scene. "At this rate, it won't be long before whoever this is finally kills Misty and then you, Ash."

"But why try to kill Daisy?" Ash said.

"You figure anything out from this?" Flint asked Kendal, who was looking at his feet, again thinking hard.

" in their way. They'll only kill the people they need to kill in order to do what they're trying to do."She didn't try to kill Daisy," he said. "According to Lilly, whoever did this was long gone by the time she came. That meant they would have had time to stab her a few more times and make sure she was dead. But they didn't. They probably thought Daisy was Misty, and once they realized they had just stabbed Misty's sister, they ran. This means that they're not the kind of killer who's willing to kill anyone that may be a threat. They only kill people that they need to kill in order to reach their goal."

"Which is what?" Misty asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Kendal said. "Killing another person definitely would have gotten them more attention than just stabbing her once, so that for the most part takes away the possibility of them doing this for fame. Plus, I just remembered that Daisy said a woman called her and told her about Daisy. It might have actually been the person who stabbed Daisy, meaning that they wanted her to be okay. If that's true, there's even more confusion to this, because a most people who kill like this are sociopaths, but they can't show that sort of remorse. This is something-and someone-different."

"How about me?" Flint said. "Have you figured out why they were trying to kill me?"

"Well, I was with you in that computer room for a few minutes," Kendal replied, "and you seem to know your way around the information superhighway better than anyone. Whoever this is probably knows that they're somewhere in that database and wants to get rid of you, and along with you any chance of figuring out who they are."

"But they must know Flint to know that he's good with the computers," Ash said.

"And if why not kill Kendal instead?" said Misty. "He'd probably be easier, since he's a kid and not a cop, and he's the only one here who's actually figuring anything out from what's going on."

"I have no idea…" Kendal said, though more to himself than to Misty, still looking down at his feet, stuck in a world of intense thought in an attempt to figure out what the hell was happening.  
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And that's the chapter! I'm pretty sure there'll only be one or two more chapters left, and the next chapter may just answer all the questions that have so far been presented and not yet answered! Until then, laterz!

Oh yeah, and be sure to REVIEW!!!! And, as always, tell me any theories you have in your reviews. But seriously: AT LESAT LEAVE A FREAKING REVIEW!!!!!!!!!


	7. Chapter 7

Alright, here we go! Time for the next (and probably last) chapter! Woohoo!  
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Chapter 7

Ash, his father, Misty, and Detectives Green and Marian stood in the lobby of the police station, with chairs set up in a circle. They had been discussing the case for at least an hour, trying to figure it out. Green had been called earlier and told that the place where Steve held his sick games had been found. He was found dead in his lair, having stabbed himself with a knife he had kept in his pocket. There was also a shattered cell phone next to his body.

"Well, let's go over this again," Green said. He had been saying the same thing for a while, hoping that somebody would get a spark in their brain. "We know that we're not looking for Steve, because he's dead. His whole family committed suicide, and nobody ever liked him, so it's not somebody trying to avenge his death. This means it's probably somebody who wants us to think it's them. Whoever it is, they don't want to kill people who they weren't planning to kill. They also sent somebody else to kill Flint, so they're probably not too confident in themselves now." As he said these things, everybody else simply nodded after each fact.

"So, we're basically clueless other than that," Misty said.

"I guess…" Green said.

"We should probably go home," Detective Marian said. She had been twitching often throughout the whole discussion. She was sweating, and seemed to be incredibly worried and afraid. She would steal multiple glances towards the door which lead into the computer room, where Kendal and Flint had been trying to get some more information on Steve.

"Good idea," Ash's father said. All of them stood up.

"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow," Green said. Just as they were all about to leave, the door to the computer room suddenly burst open and Kendal and Flint ran out. Ash then saw that Marian had taken out her gun, and was now hastily putting it back in her belt.

"Guys!" Flint yelled. "We figured out who it is!"

"You did!?!" Everyone yelled excitedly.

"Yes!" Kendal exclaimed. "I-"

Suddenly, Kendal was clogged upside the head with a gun, and fell to the ground, unconscious. Flint was then shot in the head, and also fell to the ground, dead. Detective Marian stood there, looking completely freaked out, as if she were losing her mind. She had her gun out, and it was pointed at where Flint had just been standing mere seconds before he died.

For a few seconds, there was no response at all from anyone. There was an eerie silence in the room. Not even the night outside of the police station made a sound. It was as if the whole world had paused, in order to take in what had just happened. Then, finally, Detective Green spoke.

"Tony…"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!!" Marian yelled, now pointing the gun straight at Green, who instinctively held up his hands, an extremely frightened look on his face.

"Okay…okay…"

Marian twitched, shook her head, and made stranger expressions with her face, as if she were having trouble just being there. "My real name…" she said slowly, "…is Taylor. Taylor…Luckabee."

Everybody simply stared, and said nothing. After few more seconds, Taylor spoke again.

"Stephen Luckabee was my brother."

Everybody just stared, and David finally spoke after yet another painful silence.

"Taylor…did you…"

"HE TOLD ME TO!!!" Taylor yelled, tears beginning to run down her cheeks as she attempted not to start bawling uncontrollably. "I could just ignore his last, dying wish!"

Everybody was silent. Every_thing _was silent. Slowly, Taylor began to explain everything.

"Stevie wasn't always the way he was when he died…he was my little brother. I remember him. He was a kind, sweet, lovable boy. Nobody could ever hate him for anything. But then…"

Taylor seemed to have trouble speaking of it. "One day…I don't remember it too well…he was thirteen years old, and…he was in the forest, and a wild alakazam…it was only defending its children, but it…it…it did…did something…and, well, it…it did something to his brain…he wasn't the same after that…

"He started having schizophrenia…hearing voices. Our parents were too stubborn to bring him to a doctor-they thought it would just wear off…but it never did…

"Then, when he was 15, I was having trouble sleeping, so I…I went downstairs to get some milk…and I found…our parents…they were dead…there was blood everywhere, and…and Stevie standing there with a carving knife! He killed them! He killed his own parents, and he didn't even seem sorry! He seemed to…to…he _liked _it!!! He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what he did!

"What did you do?" Ash's father asked cautiously. Taylor sniffled.

"I didn't do anything. I…I couldn't lose a third family member…it still loved Stevie…I knew that without the schizophrenia, he never would have even thought of doing what he did…I just buried our parent's bodies in the forest, and raised Stevie myself from there on…a year later, he ran away from home…

"Then, years after that, when I thought he was long gone, he called me…and he told me…stories. He told me what he did. He told me about the maze and how he killed people…he talked like he was bragging! He talked about how clever he was, and how stupid these people were! He _laughed _about it! He kept calling me every now and then, to tell me about the more about what he was doing…every time with more and more detail, until finally, I just couldn't take it anymore! I told the police about him, I told them everything…except my name. I didn't want anybody to know at all who I was…I had faked my own suicide some time after Steve killed our parents, and went by the name of Tony Marian…I wanted to start over with my life. I hadn't wanted to ever have to think about what happened again!

"Then, even later, when I thought for sure that Stevie had died, I read about you guys in the paper, and what had happened…I couldn't believe he was still alive, but I couldn't say what I knew. I knew that he would die soon, and I would be able to finally lead a normal life…

"And then he called me. He called me and told me everything. He told me what had happened, and that he knew it was me who tipped him off years earlier. He said that it was my fault he was stuck in there, and that he wanted me to do something for him…he told me exactly what to do with Mark and his body, but told me to just plan out the rest of it myself. He said I should kill Misty first, and then Ash later, and to kill anyone who got the way."

"Taylor..." Green said slowly. "You didn't have to-"

"YES I DID!!!!" Taylor yelled. "HE TOLD ME THAT IT WAS MY FAULT HE WAS DYING, AND HE WAS RIGHT!!!!!! IT IS MY FAULT!!!!" Tears were now streaming out of Taylor's eyes like a river. "IT'S MY FAULT THAT HE'S DEAD, AND NOW I HAVE TO REPAY HIM!!!"

Taylor slowly calmed down, and few minutes later continued.

"…So I convinced you to have the funeral held outdoors. That way, I could hopefully get a chance at killing Misty…but I missed. I was scared, shaky. Then, I almost tried to kill Misty with the crossbow, but when I saw Lance walk in…I freaked. He wasn't supposed to be there! So I tried to kill him, but since I was so freaked out, I hit Misty's foot instead.

"Later, I got worried that Flint would figure out what was going on…but I was worried I could get caught. So I hired someone to try to kill him. He failed, and the next day I hid in a closet in Misty's house, waiting for her to come home…when she walked by, I stabbed her in the back, only to see that it was her sister, and not Misty…I was scared, and worried. I didn't want her to die…she didn't have to…so I called one of Misty's other sisters, and told her everything…then I ran."

There was a painfully long silence. There was not a sound in the world. Taylor was still crying, and no longer had her gun pointed at Green. She had it held down at her side, and was looking at the ground.

"Taylor…" Green said. He didn't seem angry, or scared, or anything like that. Instead he seemed…sad. Sorry. Taylor looked up, and Green spoke. "You didn't have to do this…"

"I already told you," Taylor said, "I had to repay Steve."

"Steve was insane, Taylor," Green said. "You did the right thing by turning him in, and you know you did. You didn't owe him anything. And you still don't."

Taylor looked up, and there seemed to be a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Wait a minute…" Ash said. He had just realized something. "You never killed Kendal. You never tried to, and just now, you knocked him out when you could have easily killed him. Kendal had schizophrenia, just like Steve, and that's a genetically passed disease…"

Taylor sadly nodded. "Before Steve was a serial killer, he was a rapist. One of the women…became pregnant. Kendal is her son.

"When Steve called me," Taylor said, "I told him he had a son. For a few minutes, I could hear-I could _feel_-the old Steve. The Steve that I grew up. He seemed loving…caring…and sad. It sounded like he was crying. He told me to take care of Kendal, and make sure that he never got hurt. But he didn't want me to tell Kendal anything…he said that Kendal didn't deserve to have to live with knowing that he was the son of a serial killer."

Taylor looked at Kendal's unconscious body and the tears began to roll faster out of her eyes.

"Taylor," Green said, "think back to that moment." Taylor looked up at him. He had a strange look in his eyes, one that Ash had only seen on the faces of his mother, his father, and Misty. He knew immediately exactly what it was. It was love. "Think of _that _Steve," he said. "Not the Steve that killed all those people, but _that_ Steve. The Steve you knew when you were kid. That wasn't him who killed people and bragged about it, that was somebody else. But think of the true Steve. That kind, loving, caring Steve.

"He wouldn't want you to do this."

For a few seconds, Taylor simply stood there, staring at Green in shock. Then, slowly, the gun slipped out of her hand, and fell to the ground with a small clatter. She then began sobbing hysterically, and Green drew her into a loving embrace, which she returned.

"I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. Green simply patted her on the back and said, "You did the right thing. I'm sure that Steve is glad now."

"I killed them…" she said. "You could have killed more," Green answered. "But you didn't. It isn't what we choose to do, but what we choose _not _to do, that shows who we really are."

Ash, his father, and Misty, simply stood there.

All three of them found it impossible to stop the tears from falling down their face.  
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A couple weeks later, Ash sat on his living room couch back in Pallet town, watching TV. The story was still all over the news.

David Green, who just happened to be a lawyer, had testified in Taylor's favor in court, and managed to stop her from getting the death sentence by pleading temporary insanity. She would have to serve a life sentence in prison, but she was fine. She said that now that she had been caught, she was actually much happier than she ever would have been if she had never been arrested.

A single funeral had been held for Mark and Flint. Ash's father had come with him to Pallet, as well as Misty. His Mother had been unable to speak for a few minutes after discovering her husband was alive. Ash's father had also held true to his promise, and gotten him and Ash front row, sideline seats to a Pokémon tournament, and it was one of the greatest ones Ash had been too, mostly just because he got to be there with his father.

Kendal was doing fine, except he still didn't know that Steve was his father. Everybody made sure to fulfill one of Steve's dying wishes, and keep it a secret forever. Steve was right. Kendal was good kid. He didn't deserve to know such a thing.

After everything that had happened, Ash had learned a large number of things, but seeing Taylor cry into David's shoulder and tell him how sorry she was had taught him the biggest lesson of all.

Criminals were people. Usually, TV shows would show criminals as mean, gruff, unrepentant people who were just downright unpleasant. But now Ash knew that really, most of them weren't much different than normal, everyday people. They were just plain human beings who ended up making a mistake and breaking the law, and a lot of times, they were probably sorry for what they'd down. Taylor had killed two people, and tried to kill two others, and yet she acted just like anyone else, and she was deeply sorrowful.

Ash turned his head and looked at his beautiful girlfriend who was sitting next to him. It was late in the evening, and his parents had "gone to bed". The way the light from the moon was shining over her made her look even more stunning than usual. Her flowing, graceful red hair was being blown back by the wind from the window, and her wide, emerald eyes were shining brightly in the night. Her skin was practically golden, and as she looked at Ash, she smiled her amazing smile, the one that always seemed to cheer Ash up, no matter how bad of a mood he was in.

Neither one of them said a word, and neither one of them had to. They both knew what the other was thinking. Slowly, they leaned in on each other, and when their faces were less than an inch away, they pulled each other into a passionate kiss, and they had no reason for this other than the fact that they loved each other, and they knew it.

There are plenty of bad things happening in the world at this time. People are dying, forests are burning, and the world as we know it may very well be slowly going down in flames.

But for that one night, all was well. 


End file.
